Reflective Essay on Pass

After completing the group task of preparing a presentation on, transferring individual facilitation skills into a group work setting I will critically reflect upon my own participation. I will evaluate my self-awareness while working in the group, as well as those around me. The way that I personally dealt with any issues that arose within the group and how that affected the group dynamics. I will also briefly discuss the roles in which each member of the group took and how role allocation affected, the group dynamics and the working relationships. Finally I will evaluate my work having discussed it with my fellow group members.

     In Nella Larsen’s Passing, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry show us a great deal about race and sexuality in the 1920s. Both are extremely light-skinned women of African-American descent. However similar they appear to be, their views on race, a very controversial issue at the time, differ significantly. Clare chooses to use her physical appearance as an advantage in America’s racist and sexist society, leaving behind everything that connects her to her African-American identity. She presents herself as an object of sexual desire, flaunting herself to gain attention. Irene is practically the opposite, deciding that she wants to remain with the label of being black. She is subtle with her

1. Understand the features of effective team performance within a health and social care or children and young people’s setting

1. Understand the features of effective team performance within a health and social care or children and young people’s setting

On our next meeting, I realised that some of the group members were unable to turn up for one reason or the other. Even though some of us were able to gather information, there were still much expected from us as a group. There were misunderstanding among us in that we put blame on each other. This made me realise that partnership working cannot be successful without collaboration, effective communication, good interaction and cooperation among the various individuals

Within this assignment I will describe my understanding of the links between management and leadership, the skills and styles of management and leadership, the application of management and leadership theories in an organisational context and planning for the development of management and leadership skills.

Reflecting on this course over this semester, there have been many lessons learned that will be valuable, as we enter the business world. Our first lesson was to learn to work together, as a team, to prepare a short memo, long memo, letter, and email for use in the business world. This is a lesson that will experience many times as we do our daily work. Punctuation and grammar are so important to present to the client and other organizations that we are professionals. It could mean the loss of a sale or acquiring new business. It’s like dressing for work; looking professional or unprofessional.

Throughout the readings communication was identified as a vital component for establishing and maintaining relationships. Porter-O Grady sanctioned for leaders to establish firm rules of engagement to help support a positive group dynamic (2013). While Kelly & Tazbir explained that friction and conflict were a normal part of group development and were representative of the Storming stage of group process (2014). Moreover, they explained that with assistance from the team leader the team can overcome these obstacles, strengthen inter-professional relationships, and enter into the Norming stage (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). Here the team is able to participate in the effective exchange of communication and begin making progress toward goals. This represents progression into the Performing stage of group process (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). When the team has met its intended target they are ready to anylze the outcomes of their work and enter the final stage of group process—Adjourning (Kelly & Tazbir,

Throughout the module I was part of group including eight other health professions including student midwives, mental health nurses, physiotherapist’s, radiologists and paediatric nurses. According to Tuckman and Jensen (1977) there are five stages of group development; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. I was a little anxious about meeting the group and during the forming stage was apprehensive about trusting individuals within the group; maybe because of the lack of a clear

| |the intellectual conversation of topics that were discussed. I also enjoyed the learning |

This chapter reviewed many different aspects of group work such as different processes and skills required to run several different groups. The groups discussed were open-ended group, groups hosted in residential settings, single-session groups, and large activity groups.

When doing so the other group members were active listener, by using their whole body verbally and nonverbal. Like facing the speaker and giving eye contact and try to avoided interruption. The group also acknowledges the thoughts of the speaker by giving constructive feed back. Due to the effectiveness of the group communication, we were able to build trust, respect and understand the issues and make decision for effective change. We illustrate this by coming together as a group one again to accomplish the goal we initially wanted to accomplish. Since the first organization that we had chosen was incorrect, so we had to make the necessary changes to accomplish our goals. The other effective feature is the purpose of the group. Kozier et al (2010) stated that the effective group purpose is when “goal, task, and outcomes are clarified. Understanding and modified so that members of the group can commit themselves to purposes through cooperation” (p.401). For instance, each individual was assign a task and knew what was to be accomplished. As group we all decided to meet at suitable day and time which was beneficial to all team members, because we could commit to the group and focus on what needed to be achieved.

Groupwork can be defined as a method of social work that is utilised in order to help individuals to enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to help cope with their personal group or community problems (Konopka, 1972). The role of groupwork places emphasis on sharing thoughts, ideas, problems and activities, allowing social action groups for instance, to “empower members to engage in collective action and planned change efforts to modify particular aspects of their social or physical environment” (Toseland & Rivas, 2014, p. 38; Pyles, 2009; Staples, 2004). Therefore, reflecting on the processes of groupwork is an essential mechanism for all professionals in order to develop better communication skills, conflict resolution and enhance future performance. This essay will reflect upon the task group processes that were conducted this semester, while evaluating my own role within the group and what was learnt working within a small group.

This assignment will aim to define what group work is, outline the history of group work, its advantages and disadvantages and the use of group for individuals suffering from ill mental health. The second part of this assignment will be a reflection that will outline the authors personal experience of participating in a group in the university setting and the challenges and growths associated with that. Human beings naturally form groups and are shaped by them. Usually beginning in the microcosm of the family and extending to larger societal and cultural groups.

When this course started, I didn’t know what to expect. Quickly did I learn that it was more than just about a single individual and his or her ideas and behaviours. As the course progressed, I learned that it was very important to understand how small groups work. Reflecting upon my personal journey with my group, I have learnt that working in small groups requires commitment, synergy, communication, listening, conflict resolution and decision making and problem solving. This brings me upon my personal journey with my small group and how I have learned to work in such an environment.